HC Deb 22 April 2002 vol 384 cc37-8W
Mr. Letwin

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department why full 10-year passports are the only form of passport available. [48015]

Angela Eagle

[holding answer 10 April 2002]: The 10-year passport is the international standard agreed with the International Civil Aviation Organisation. The United Kingdom Passport Service also issues passports valid for five years to children aged under 16. The one-year British Visitors Passport was discontinued in 1995 because it was a less secure document and was not widely accepted for travel outside Western Europe.